I Will Get to the Bottom of This!

Seems like American jurisprudence and righteous indignation are combining to shake some long-held brand images to their very core. Oh, and don't forget a healthy dose of Russian intrigue. All these dubious qualities intensified by the presence of large amounts of alcohol and money.

That is, specifically, a court case in California seeking $1 million in damages (and presumably a cease and desist order) for labeling Stoli as Russian vodka when its actually made in neighboring Latvia. Friendly American consumers seeking to improve relations with Russia have been hoodwinked since 2001 by the French/Latvian axis. Check out the article at MosNews.

Its interesting that there's a battle over the actual origin when it seems that the premium vodka market has already moved well beyond that. Ketel, Chopin, Absolut, Grey Goose - basically every successful recent market entrant - are all made far from Russia. And that hasn't really been much of an issue for consumers.

And Smirnoff, the industry giant in sales, hasn't had anything to do with Russia since 1917.

Vodka is an interesting consumer good, since it is driven nearly all by marketing. For example, the legal definition according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a neutral spirit "without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color." Vodka manufacturers (except for one or two boutique houses) purchase already distilled neutral spirit, and do a modicum of filtering and flavoring before bottling. The value add is in small variations from the raw material and differentiation from other brands, with much more effort put into designing packages and clever ads.

So back to Smirnoff. You don't buy a Smirnoff Cosmopolitan and expect to pay $12 for it like you do when you order Grey Goose. And yet, an exhaustive survey by the NY Times (Jan 26, 2005) editors for the Dining Section - with help from professional bartenders - placed Smirnoff squarely at the top of a list of 21 vodkas. Something similar happened in 2003 at an industry event in San Francisco. All by way of saying that if you use your vodka in mixed drinks like the vast majority of Americans, you are pretty much guaranteed not to notice a difference in taste.

So smile the next time the poser next to you at the bar orders a $10 Grey Goose and Tonic. Or, order one yourself if you're with very shallow people.

You can read the NY Times article at the Smirnoff site. You'll have to "prove" you're of legal drinking age by entering your date of birth on the main page. Don't worry if you can't subtract 21 from 2005 easily, the pulldown menu of years goes all the way back to 1900.